Anti-dengue drive in full swing:

Legal action against nearly 800 violators

Ridma DISSANAYAKE

Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) filed court cases against nearly 800 persons who failed to maintain clean surroundings paving the way for dengue mosquito breeding, during raids throughout the country in the past week. Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena announced June 25 to July 25 as the National Dengue Control Month after meeting the Presidential Task Force on Dengue. According to a special circular issued by Health Ministry Secretary Dr Ravindra Ruberu, PHIs were tasked to monitor dengue eradication programmes implemented islandwide.

Following this, PHIs inspected 133,406 residences and establishments and legal action has been instituted against 766 individuals, a spokesman for the Sri Lanka Association of Public Health Inspectors said. Those found to have violated the guidelines of the Mosquito Control Act will be subjected to fines ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000. Violators could also face a prison sentence up to six months. The spokesman said Rs 2,898,000 was earned from fines.

Meanwhile, a Health Ministry spokesman said unoccupied houses and neglected bare lands have also become a stumbling block in the fight against dengue.

The spokesman said the Police Environment Unit implemented a programme to identify bare lands and inform owners to maintain them. The Police Environment Unit identified 175 bare lands in the Colombo district and the process is continuing in several highly populated areas including Kandy, Kurunegala, Galle and Kegalle. “Persons living around bare lands use the land to dispose garbage leading to the breeding of dengue mosquitoes. The government will strictly enforce the law in this connection and will file cases against persons who do not take immediate action to clean the bare lands,” the spokesman said.